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Sam Altman - Wikipedia

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Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.

Rating inherited from publication venue: Wikipedia

Background reference on a key figure in AI development; useful for understanding the leadership and organizational context of OpenAI, a central player in frontier AI safety and capabilities debates.

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Importance: 35/100wiki pagereference

Summary

Wikipedia biography of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and prominent figure in AI development. Covers his background as a technology entrepreneur, his role leading OpenAI through major product launches including ChatGPT, and his public positions on AI safety and governance.

Key Points

  • Sam Altman is CEO of OpenAI, the organization behind GPT-4, ChatGPT, and other influential AI systems.
  • Previously served as president of Y Combinator, giving him significant influence in the broader tech startup ecosystem.
  • Has publicly advocated for AI regulation while simultaneously accelerating AI capabilities development.
  • Was briefly fired and reinstated as OpenAI CEO in November 2023, highlighting governance tensions at the organization.
  • Frequently cited in AI safety discussions as a key decision-maker shaping how frontier AI systems are developed and deployed.

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Sam AltmanPerson40.0

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HTTP 200Fetched May 17, 202698 KB
# Sam Altman

Sam Altman

American businessman and entrepreneur (born 1985)

| Sam Altman |
| --- |
| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Sam_Altman_TechCrunch_SF_2019_Day_2_Oct_3_%28cropped_3%29.jpg/500px-Sam_Altman_TechCrunch_SF_2019_Day_2_Oct_3_%28cropped_3%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_Altman_TechCrunch_SF_2019_Day_2_Oct_3_(cropped_3).jpg)<br>Altman in 2019 |
| Born | Samuel Harris Altman<br> (1985-04-22) April 22, 1985 (age41)<br>[Chicago, Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Illinois "Chicago, Illinois"), U.S. |
| Education | [Stanford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University "Stanford University") (dropped out) |
| Notablework | [Loopt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt "Loopt")(co-founder) |
| Title | - CEO of [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI")<br>- Chairman of [Helion Energy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helion_Energy "Helion Energy")<br>- President of [Y Combinator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator "Y Combinator") (until 2019) |
| Spouse | Oliver Mulherin<br>​<br>(m.2024)​ |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | [Jack Altman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Altman_(entrepreneur) "Jack Altman (entrepreneur)") (brother) Ann Altman sister |
| Website | [blog.samaltman.com](https://blog.samaltman.com/) |
| Signature |
| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sam_altman_autograph_2024.svg/330px-Sam_altman_autograph_2024.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_altman_autograph_2024.svg) |

**Samuel Harris Altman** (born April 22, 1985)[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-1) is an American entrepreneur who has been the [chief executive officer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer "Chief executive officer") (CEO) of the [artificial intelligence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence "Artificial intelligence") company [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI") since 2019.

Altman attended [Stanford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University "Stanford University") for two years before he dropped out and co-founded [Loopt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt "Loopt"), a smartphone [geosocial networking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosocial_networking "Geosocial networking") service. Loopt was acquired by [Green Dot Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dot_Corporation "Green Dot Corporation") for $43.4 million.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-:4-2) In 2011, Altman joined [Y Combinator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator "Y Combinator"), a technology [startup accelerator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_accelerator "Startup accelerator") and venture capital firm, and was the company's president from 2014 to 2019.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-wapo-2023-3) He is a billionaire with many investments including [Reddit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wik

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